26 February 2010 (gig)
10 March 2010
If you go down to the Monsters Ball today you’re sure of a great surprise.
Madonna and Kylie can hang up their pop princess crowns 'cause there’s a new girl in town and she’s armed with,well occasionally with actual armour, but also with better songs, she’s sexier, cooler, more liberated, iconic and individual than those two has-beens put together, and she goes by the name of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta or, LADY GAGA.
Pre 2008 – who had heard of Lady Gaga? Now, at the embryonic age of 23 she has sold over 10 million copies of her debut album, The Fame, now officially Diamond Certified, and over thirty-five million singles digitally worldwide. Wowzer!
Her mixture of thumping electro dance, pop melody, glam rock gusto and passion for avant-garde couture fashion, equates to a performer whose career is currently hotter than the sun (which I hear is pretty damn hot).
I went along with 18,000 others to London’s O2 Arena to the first show of this year’s UK tour. I arrived at 9pm somewhat late and overexcited. Some kids had been waiting since 2pm that afternoon! Gaga was running 40 mins late herself, probably polishing the three Brit awards she’d just won for best international female solo artist, best international breakthrough act and best international album for 'The Fame.'
I had never been to an arena gig before so it was a bit of a shock to see so many people all at once. As Gaga said herself: 'Sometimes I have to f***ing pinch myself. I really can’t believe this' Then, the background music died down, the lights were low and a deafening scream pervaded the arena. Lady Gaga was silhouetted behind a yellow screen to 'Dance In The Dark.' The atmosphere was charged. Once the audience had caught their breath, she launched them into another uncontrollable surge of excitement with her hit 'Just Dance.'
The show was completely spectacular and exhilarating. It comprised for 4 parts City, Subway, Forest and Monster Ball and the structure was that of a storyteller relaying a children’s fantasy bedtime story, like 'The Princess Bride,' and we the audience were her little monsters, but we were far from ready to go to beddy and Gaga was no Colombo.
The costume and set changes seemed endless, absurd, amazing and mind boggling. She was a snow queen, a giant tasselled lampshade, a PVC thing. There were forests, a fish beast with octopus's tentacles that Gaga slayed with her burning loins, (her pants and bra were on fire of course!) a woman vomiting green liquid, hot male dancers, perfect choreography and dazzling lights. If Gaga did Halloween parties...
I saw a preview show of Love Never Dies the week afterwards - it was like comparing a stale digestive to a bespoke 3 tired wedding cake with fake blood and diamonds oozing from the spunge inside. Being Lady Gaga there was of course the usual inane bull in between songs such as;
"The Monster Ball will set you free. All the freaks are outside and we lock the fucking doors. It's a place you can be whatever you want to be, no matter who doesn't believe in you."
Well, for a start this is the O2 Arena luv, not Madam Jo-Jos! Look around. Mainstream as they come! She went on about not being one of the cool kids growing up - being an outsider blah blah blah. You’re not Kimya Dawson strumming a guitar at Union Chapel, you’re Lady Gaga, charging a fortune to 18,000 people so shut the fuck up and sing Poker Face!
And so she did. She couldn’t believe that we were all there for her and that’s when I thought lord – behind this extravagant display and heady beats there is a teeny tiny girl, who is truly humbled by the adoration, she plays the piano, writes songs, has power and conviction in her voice, and puts her all into entertaining us and inviting us into her world. She had all 18,000 of us screaming for m-m-m-more.
For me she’s got the mix right: She got right about of audacity and craziness, fragile yet powerful, sexy and flawlessly beautiful, yet grotesque and witch like, defiant yet humble, overindulgent but not self centred or arrogant.
When I mentioned that I was seeing Lady Gaga to my friends, who are an eclectic bunch, they either gasped wide eyed with their hand on their heart proclaiming their love for her, or they tutted dismissively and looked at the floor. There were no 'oh she’s OK’s’. Gaga has got the marmite factor, and I certainly know which I’d rather have on toast.
All too soon we were clapping for an encore and I wondered which song she would sing. And then,Roma-rah-ah-ah-ah. And the all crowd echoed Roma, Roma-ma. I WANT YOUR ROMANCE.
And then the bejewelled gates to her fairytale world closed. She’d given us a terrific ride on her disco stick we slumped into our beds tucked up and satisfied.
GAGA –you’re the MONSTER who has THE FAME and long may you reign!
Set List:
City: Dance in the Dark, Glitter and Grease, Just Dance, Beautiful, Dirty, Rich, Vanity, The Fame.
Subway: LoveGame, Boys Boys Boys, Money Honey, Telephone, Brown Eyes, Speechless, So Happy I Could Die’
Forest: Monster, Teeth, Alejandro, Pokerface.
Monster Ball: Paparazzi, Bad Romance.
